What are Exchange tokens?

Exchange tokens are native tokens issued by trading platforms, mainly used for trading fee discounts, platform governance, ecological participation, etc. They usually appreciate with the growth of the exchange and are an important tool for capturing platform value.

Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, exchange tokens are tied to a specific platform, similar to ‘shareholder certificates,’ but different from traditional stocks because they can also participate in on-chain governance and mining incentives.

The main types of Exchange tokens

Exchange tokens can be divided into two categories:

• Centralized Exchange Token (CEX tokens)
  Such as GT from Gate.io, BNB from Binance, and OKB from OKX. These tokens are usually used for fee discounts, platform dividends, project subscriptions, etc.
• Decentralized Exchange Token (DEX tokens)
  For example, UNI from Uniswap, SUSHI from SushiSwap, mainly used for community governance and liquidity rewards.

Although they have different positioning, they both aim to improve the platform user stickiness and ecological activity.

GT: The platform token issued by Gate.io

Among many exchange tokens, GT (Gate Token) is a representative project. It is issued by the veteran exchange Gate.io and has become an essential part of the platform ecosystem.

Image:https://www.gate.io/launchpool

The core functions of GT include:

• Fee discount: Users holding a certain amount of GT can enjoy spot and contract fee discounts.
• Participate in Launchpad project subscription: GT is the entry pass for Gate.io’s Launchpad projects, and holders are given priority allocation when new projects go live.
• Platform governance: Users can use GT to vote on exchange decisions, such as listing new coins, guild bonus plans, etc.
• Dividends and Repurchases: Gate.io will regularly use a portion of the platform’s revenue to repurchase and burn GT, which has a deflationary property.

In addition, GT can also participate in Staking to obtain additional income, and it is a token with both functionality and potential value growth.

Top Exchange tokens Example

In addition to GT, there are several mainstream exchange tokens worth paying attention to in the market:

• BNB (Binance Coin): The exchange token with the highest global market value, widely used in various scenarios including payment, cross-chain asset bridge, and on-chain ecosystem.
• OKB (OKX Token): Tokens issued by OKX for fee discounts, ecological project voting, and wealth management.
• UNI (Uniswap): The governance token of the decentralized exchange platform Uniswap, which can participate in protocol upgrades and liquidity pool management.

These tokens not only have practical utility value, but also often rise with the expansion of the platform, becoming a focus of attention for long-term investors.

Why focus on Exchange tokens?

The advantages of platform tokens should not be underestimated, especially for frequent traders or DeFi users:

• Reduce trading costs: Fee discounts are a direct economic benefit, which can be quite substantial in the long run.
• Early investment in projects: Obtain subscription rights for new projects by holding coins, enter the “primary market”, and seize the dividend period.
• Ecological dividend sharing: The more active the platform business is, the more valuable the token. Some platforms will also return profits to coin holders.

In addition, for users who value decentralized participation rights, DEX tokens endow governance rights, which is also a manifestation of discourse power.

How to buy and use Exchange tokens?

Obtaining platform tokens is very simple:

1. Choose an exchange and register an account (such as Gate.io, Binance, OKX)
2. Complete identity verification (KYC) to upgrade account permissions
3. Recharge mainstream assets such as USDT or BTC
4. Buy platform tokens (such as GT/USDT) in the spot market
5. Select holdings, Staking, subscriptions, and other uses as needed

It is recommended that beginners transfer their assets to the platform’s official wallet or a multi-chain self-hosted wallet after purchase to enhance asset security.

What should I pay attention to when investing in platform tokens?

Despite the many advantages of Exchange tokens, it is still necessary to rationally consider their risks:

• Price fluctuations are severe: due to the strong correlation between the development of the exchange itself and the market environment, the platform token price may fluctuate dramatically.
• Policy risks: Especially for centralized exchanges, if they encounter regulatory issues, the value of tokens may be affected.
• Lock-up and liquidity restrictions: There may be a lock-up period when participating in Staking or subscription, and it may not be easy to cash out when there is insufficient liquidity.

Therefore, it is essential to control positions, diversify investments, and pay attention to platform announcements and Token mechanism adjustments.

Conclusion: Exchange tokens are the barometer of platform vitality.

Exchange tokens are not just “handling fee tokens”, they are the core of the trading platform ecosystem. Through this article, you can see that platform coins like GT have already surpassed the category of “trading props” in terms of functional design, deflation mechanism, and community governance. For novice users, it is an important step to reasonably allocate platform tokens such as GT, BNB, and OKB to participate in the crypto world. With the intensification of exchange competition, these tokens will continue to expand their utility space in future scenarios such as DeFi, cross-chain, AI, etc., and are worth paying attention to.

Note: This article does not contain any investment advice. Please trade cautiously and be aware of the risks.